Biodiversity Action Plans - Sector-Specific Guidance for the Oil and Gas Industry

Abstract Biodiversity conservation has risen rapidly up the environmental and political agenda and now represents one of the most important challenges of the 21st century. Oil and gas companies can contribute to international, national and local biodiversity conservation targets through careful planning and management of operations, working with stakeholders and partners to develop long-term and sustainable solutions. However, companies face the challenge of how to integrate biodiversity considerations into their day-to-day activities. BAPs are a systematic approach to biodiversity conservation that can build on, and be integrated with, existing company activities and processes throughout the oil and gas project life cycle This paper presents sector-specific guidance, developed by by the oil and gas industry, which will help the industry to develop BAPs for their sites and projects. It describes the principal process steps needed to develop a BAP. The paper highlights the conditions under which BAP may best be integrated in company's HSE management system or developed as a stand-alone product. As stakeholder engagement is always at the basis of the development of a BAP, this paper also addresses the critical elements of that engagement process. Understanding Biodiversity In simple terms biological diversity, or biodiversity, is the variability among living organisms from all sources, including terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species, and of ecosystems (UN Convention on Biological Diversity, Article 2). Biodiversity provides us with a host of raw materials, foods and medicines and forms the basis of the life support system of our planet by, for example, underpinning the continued availability of clean air and fresh water. Interwoven with these functional aspects are spiritual, cultural and recreational elements. These elements are more difficult to value, but in many countries and cultures they are considered to be at least as important as the more functional aspects of biodiversity. The conservation of biodiversity is clearly important, both for the long-term and sustainable supply of raw materials and for the spiritual, cultural and recreational benefits that it brings. However, as the human population continues to grow, biodiversity is being lost at an increasing rate. Concern about this loss has prompted international, regional and national legislation, including the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which engendered the target to reduce the rate of loss of biodiversity by 2010. Biodiversity conservation and the private sector The private sector, working with governments, NGOs, science and community partners, has a significant role to play in the conservation of biodiversity. Like many other sectors, the oil and gas industry faces the challenge of understanding what biodiversity conservation means in practical terms and how its day-to-day activities can be organised and managed to maximise the protection and enhancement of biodiversity. The Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) offers an opportunity to the oil and gas industry to achieve this integration at the local, activity-bound level. A business case will clearly establish why preparing and implementing a BAP is mandatory or necessary: e.g. responding to legal or permitting requirements (see below), improving stakeholder relations and perceptions or avoiding costly mitigation actions later in the operation's life by incorporating effective constraints into the initial design process. It will also establish what benefits a BAP will bring to the company and to biodiversity conservation, and the likely consequences of not pursuing this approach.